Today in Tribe History: July 14, 1970

A violent home plate collision between Cleveland Indians catcher Ray Fosse and Cincinnati Reds star Pete Rose becomes the story of the day as Rose’s run in the 12th inning sends the National League All-Star team home victorious with a 5-4 walk-off win over the American League at Riverfront Stadium in Cincinnati.

Fosse was selected as the backup catcher for the AL team, his first trip to the Midsummer Classic. He was joined by teammate Sam McDowell on the roster. In the fifth, Fosse cracked the lineup and singled in the sixth inning before coming around to score one of the four AL runs on the night.

Rose singled with two outs and scored from second base on a single by Jim Hickman to score the winning run. It appeared as though he wanted to slide, but with Fosse blocking the plate, Rose bowled the Tribe backstop over in order to safely touch the plate.

Rose would miss a few games due to a knee injury sustained in the collision, but Fosse’s injuries were much more long-lasting and hidden. He had his left shoulder, which took the brunt of the impact, x-rayed but no significant injuries were initially found. He continued to play through what would be later determined to be a fractured and separated shoulder, unable to lift his arm or perform many of the tasks needed of an everyday catcher. After hitting 16 homers and batting .312 at the break, he hit just two more homers over the rest of the season and eventually hung up the cleats in September when he fractured his right index finger on a foul tip.